The Wendigos
The Wendigos are one of the two main antagonists in Until Dawn. They are humans who have been changed by a Native American spirit into cannibalistic monsters after they ate the flesh of other humans around the mines. History It is unknown how long they have lived in Blackwood but it's suggested they've been around since before the first settlements. Long ago, a Native American tribe known as the Cree preserved the Blackwoods as well as it's wildlife, believing it would anger the mountain and unleash the Wendigo curse but what they call, "A creature born from ice". In 1893, the mine was dug opened finding a rich deposit of radium but over the years the Cree warned the miners that they had unleashed the spirit that dwelled within the mountain cursing the land and its inhabitants. Around about the 1950s, a piece of the mine caved in trapping a group of miners within the caves. After an attempted rescue they found that the miners were murdered and eaten driven by hunger for human flesh. They captured one of the missing miners and ran experiments by documenting him on film. Driven mad, they fed him human flesh and quickly he mutated into a Wendigo killing everyone in the mine and unleashing the other Wendigo held captive. Appearance A typical Wendigo is hideous in appearance. Their skin is taut against their body. Wendigo also have spinal disfiguration, giving them a hunchback-like appearance. Their teeth become sharper and disfigured. A Wendigo also has their sight changed to be able to see only movement. Their limbs become much longer, giving them the ability to climb up walls, and make small jumps from spot to spot in the blink of an eye. They also lose their hair, and throughout time, they eventually lose their male and female characteristics, and become skeletal in appearance. It's interesting to note that the Wendigo will retain any tattoo or alterations to their skin, evidenced by Josh recognizing Hannah's tattoo late in the game. Characteristics A Wendigo is known to have some sort of set pattern. This begins with the tracking of the prey. This can take up to several hours. It seems they like to hunt prey alone, rather than in packs. They are shown to have great predatory skills. They do not appear to lose their humanity completely as they can use some human-like tricks to lure their prey. Another example of this is how Hannah never directly kills Mike, suggesting that some of her affection towards him remains. She would also spare Josh from death if he recognizes her. Their main way of communication is by screeching. They use this screeching as a way to scare prey into moving, leading to a gruesome kill. It's interesting to note however, that they have the ability to mimic the voice of someone they hear. It's unknown how this happens. Wendigos will also attack each other. Despite their frail appearance, Wendigo are incredibly strong, capable of crushing a human skull with their bare hands. They seem to favor brutal, deliberate methods of killing their prey, such as gouging out the eyes of their victims or impaling them on hooks rather than simply slashing them with their claws, indicating that Wendigo are sadistic rather than merely animalistic killers. Until Dawn Prologue On the night Hannah and Beth Washington went missing, a Wendigo was tracking them. As The Stranger was attempting to kill the Wendigo, the Wendigo ended up being indirectly involved with Beth dying and Hannah breaking her leg from the fall. During the month that Hannah wrote in her diary, she became extremely hungry, and dug up Beth's corpse and cannibalized it. From the moment she ate, the Wendigo Curse entered her, making her stronger and transforming her body into a Wendigo. Her last diary entry was unintelligible. Present The Wendigo is indirectly encountered when Sam enters Blackwood Pines. It tracks everyone for several hours until being directly involved in the kidnapping of Jessica and dragging her to the mines. Given the time if Michael moves quickly, the Wendigo will leave Jessica injured but not dead. If Michael takes too long, choosing the longer route too often, it gives the Wendigo enough time to rip off Jessica's lower jaw. No matter the result, the Wendigo will look down toward Michael with enough time to get a shot off. The Fire Tower The Wendigo is next encountered at the Fire Tower with Matt and Emily. It trips the motion sensor on sight, and attempts to gain access to the top of the tower by banging on the door. When that fails, it then cuts the line holding the tower in place. By cutting the line, it makes the entire structure collapse. If Matt jumps to the safe place without Emily, he will then be encountered by the Wendigo. If he survives, the Wendigo will scurry off into the night. If he dies, his chin gets impaled by a hook in the cave. The Mines After Emily is shown making her way through the tunnels, she heard screeching and yelling, with the occasional burst of fire. After she unsuccessfully tries to run away from The Stranger, she falls backward into a hole leading farther into the shaft. During that time, she was being tracked by the Wendigo. On one occasion, the Wendigo actually showed up behind a man-made wall when Emily was observing an item. The Wendigo takes a more proactive approach as Emily takes an elevator up the shaft, that is disrupted by the Wendigo, and she is forced to stay still to avoid being caught. After Emily leaves the elevator, she is then chased by it from the clearing, across boards suspended in air, and into another small tunnel. If Emily is quick to react, she will escape into the cabin. The Cabin Grounds After Emily sprints to the log, Victor Milgram confronts the group and informs them of the Wendigo. After Mike comments that he left Josh in the shed, Victor and Chris venture into the woods to find him. Seeing a broken chair, it's noted that Josh is most likely dead. When they make their way back, The Wendigo successfully tracks and beheads Victor. Chris enters into a firefight with the Wendigo. Depending on the reaction skill of Chris, he can shoot the Wendigo multiple times before making it back into the house. It's shown that an unconscious Josh is dragged away by the Wendigo. The Basement If Emily survives the ordeal, she'll be aimed at with a revolver by Michael because of the bite she had. Depending on Michael's choice, Emily will live and stay with the survivors or die by being shot in the eye. The Sanatorium Michael makes his way through the tunnels from the Cabin to the Sanatorium, where constant screeching is heard. Michael and the wolf (depending on Michael's choices) is then tracked by the Wendigo throughout the Psychiatric Wing of the Sanatorium. He, then, learns about the history of the Wendigos followed by a brief footage of a partially or fully transformed Wendigo (possibly Billy Bates) breaking his bonds, attacking and killing the medical staff. During this time, he also encounters multiple Wendigos that had been imprisoned by Victor. They try to grab him on his shoulder, and his foot. Depending on Michael's reaction time, he can avoid these. Known Wendigo *Makkapitew - Fully Transformed *Hannah Washington - Fully Transformed *Josh Washington - Partially Transformed (if survived) *Billy Bates - Fully Transformed Trivia *The Wendigo may attack each other if they're the only ones moving. *The transformation into a Wendigo begins with what appears to be an incubation period of 3 to 4 days (more or less) before any visible signs appear. The transformation then progresses very quickly over about a week. Each day they become more monstrous and lose their humanity. *When a Wendigo bites or feeds, it becomes stronger. It's interesting to note that in the end game when the Wendigo battle it out in the cabin, Hannah is able to overpower every single one of them. This is probably due to the fact that Hannah is possessed by the Makkapitew wendigo spirit. *According to The Stranger's journal, a Wendigo's skin hard like armor, cannot be cut, stabbed, or pierced by bullets, though a shotgun can slow them down. The only surefire way to hold them at bay is to use fire, making their skin weak, though he doesn't advise finishing it off, only as a last resort, as death releases the Wendigo spirit. It is unknown however if partial transformed Wendigo's still have tough armor as they are still undergoing transformation. *Despite being undead-seeming mutant humans, Wendigos are not zombies, nor do they have an infectious bite; a person bitten by a Wendigo will not become one due to the attack, only if they eat human flesh while a Wendigo spirit is free to possess them. *The Wendigo can mimic other people's voices into luring their prey to kill them. Ashley claims that she heard Jessica calling for help within the mine, but Jessica says during her interview with the police that she didn't call for help and managed to escape. If Ashley chooses to follow Jessica's voice in the mines, she will be attacked and decapitated by a Wendigo if she opens a trap door in the floor. *It seems they retain some kind of traces of humanity in their behavior, as one of them used Jess' mobile phone as a bait to get her attention. **This is further supported if Josh notices Hannah's tattoo, she will kidnap him and turn him into a Wendigo instead of killing and eating him, implying familial bonds can still be partially recognized by the human side of the Wendigo. Category:Characters Category:Antagonists Category:Deceased Characters